Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Francis.
Hi Will, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started song and lyric writing when I was a student in college working on a bachelor’s degree in English with a focus on writing. I was influenced by various singer-songwriters from the sixties through the eighties and the Beatnik/existential writers of the fifties and late nineteen and early twentieth century (Tolstoy/Nitsche/Dostoevsky).
In 2003, I ventured over from New Jersey to NYC with three cover songs, a dream and a copy of the “Village Voice.” Many artists and musicians from “across the river” did this pilgrimage to pursue their dreams and aspirations. I performed cover songs at different lounge/restaurant venues where the format was usually and open mic or showcase experience.
I composed, perfomed and promoted mainly original singer-songwriter music until about 2013. From there, I got into hip hop/rap music as a result of a geographic change and environmental dynamics that shaped my influences, ideas, themes and compositions that transformed my singer-songwriter recording sessions to a spoken word or soft rap that would flow over the lyrics I originally composed in the other genre. This happened almost on accident during the creative or pre-production process.
Back in 2024, I got back into my singer-songwriter music with a focus in the Americana genre. This was roots, pen to paper like how I started writing music in the beginning. I’ve put music out there from a few different genres but Americana music really represents the whole of me as an artist, songriter and even an amateur producer.
Listeners, fans, anybody can find my music on most digital platforms and social media….
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road can be long, hard, tough and sometimes a dead end. The struggles can be financial, emotional from multiple rejections and also time consuming. If anybody wants to succeed in the music business as a professional, it’s an all in committment. In the end it comes down to investment vs. reward. There are two points of view: The labor of love, where the reward is the actual doing or process of creating music and putting it out there because one really enjoys what their doing. The costs aren’t so quantified. The business or professional POV is, what am I getting back in terms of traction, analytics and financial revenue for my time, work, energy, money, dedication, passion and committment? The reality seems to be that most creatives are not able to make a living doing their craft. They must resign to a day job or accept eating their shirt instead of a pack of Ramen Noodles ha-ha!!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My “day job” is that of a Correctional Officer with the State of North Carolina. My specialty there is Operations and Mental Health (hospital). I’m known there for my adaptability, communication skills and interactions with different staff and offenders in that environment.
Interestingly enough, the folks I work with know about my music, They know I have a Youtube channel and have given me some pretty good feedback about my music particulary, hip hop and rap. “Dolla Bill” is my nickname there with some folks.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I would give credit to my mother, older folks that have mentored me over the years, a few supervisors at work and the advice given to me from music industry professionals with regard to the business, craft and production of my music. Of course, I can’t forget my musical influences….
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/popfuz23
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/walkingdown12
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WillFrancis22
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-407516429/tracks
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rootsmusic026
